Everywhere and back again
by Psychodahlia
Summary: A look at the men behind the logs. The story of Azaka and Kamidake's lives. Second chapter up.
1. Chapter 1

Azaka gripped his staff and whispered a prayer to Tsunami that this wasn't what he thought it was. That this wasn't happening and that they wouldn't have to…

He didn't get to finish his prayer because at that moment the opposing rebel force struck and there was work to do.

Some years earlier…

The young man studied the hardwood floor intently. He was following his father's advice and breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth but that didn't seem to help. All he could think about was what he would say to the man who would be interviewing him shortly. He briefly glanced up and caught a glimpse of Keiko on the staircase. Her long, elegant fingers briefly trailed over the elaborately carved railing and she gave him a wink so fast he almost didn't catch it.

Their brief flirting was interrupted when the door to the study opened and Azaka's interviewer silently beckoned him in. Throwing a last look at the stairs, he stood up and entered the room.

The room was about what he expected it to be. Lots of books and elaborately carved furniture filled every corner. There was no dust anywhere and the low desk by the large open windows was neat. Ayashino Kane was not a man to have a messy office. He offered Azaka a seat on a thin, beautifully embroidered cushion and seated himself behind the desk.

Azaka was keenly aware that the older man was inspecting him meticulously and tried not to show how nervous he was.

"You wish to marry my daughter?" The question was a sudden attack, strong and sudden as befitted the steel haired commander.

"Yes." Quick reply, short and to the point. Struck right at the heart.

"How will you provide for her?"

Azaka fished through his dress robes and brought out a piece of paper. The seal of the Jurain Special Forces had been broken but that didn't matter. "I've just received my commission and my orders to report to the capital will come soon." He handed the paper over for inspection.

Ayashino took the paper but didn't look at it. "You're a Lieutenant now?"

"Yes Sir."

"For the Special Forces?"

"Yes Sir."

The room was quiet as Ayashino studied him for a moment. Azaka could feel the perspiration forming on his brow and it took all his willpower not to wipe his face.

"Why the Special Forces?"

"Eh-excuse me, Sir?" The question wasn't one he'd anticipated.

Ayashino's voice contained annoyance. "Why the Special Forces?"

Azaka gulped. "My father was in the Special Forces and he was always treated well. And they pay better than the other corps."

"You joined the Special Forces for the pay?" Ice. Cold and hard.

Azaka's blue eyes met Ayashino's brown ones and he explained calmly, "A man has to provide for his family. For that he needs money. It's worth the work if he can buy his bride a silkweed wedding gown instead of relying on her father."

Moments later the door to the study opened again and two stern faced men stepped out. The younger, black haired man bowed stiffly to the elder who graced him with an approving nod and the shut the door.

Keiko appeared at the top of the stairs the minute the door clicked shut. "What did he say?"

Inside the study Ayashino Kane smiled as he listened to whoops and hollers of his daughter and her fiancée. His smile grew as he listened to the promises of a silkweed wedding gown that he wouldn't have to pay for.

End Chapter One.

Author's notes- Azaka and Kamidake are interesting to me because we don't really know anything about them. This is my little attempt to explore the men behind the logs and flesh them out a bit. Reviews are appreciated.

Name meanings

Kane- 'Tribute, warrior; the doubly-accomplished, golden; man, the eastern sky; beautiful'. That's some father-in-law, no?

Keiko-'Adored one'. This is Daddy's little girl and he wouldn't settle for anything less than wonderful for a son-in-law.


	2. Chapter 2

Where the hell was Kamidake? Azaka looked wildly around, momentarily unsure of who he was supposed to be fighting. A sudden explosion shook him and he fired a blast in that direction. The dust cleared and he saw bodies.

Dammit, he'd helped train some of those men. And now he had to kill them.

Some years earlier….

"It's not what you're used to." Azaka stated apologetically. "It's kind of small."

This was true. The little house was small and rather shabby. The carpet was threadbare in some places and even the basic shrine to Tsunami was in poor repair. The goddess was missing an ear and the paint was chipping. The main bedroom needed to be dusted and aired out and the kitchen was filthy.

Keiko looked critically around the living room and forced a smile. "It's alright. Mother's always telling me how she and Daddy had to live in what amounted to a hole in the wall when they were first married because he didn't want to live in military housing. This is much nicer." It was a lie, but it was worth it to see Azaka's eyes light up with hope.

Keiko sighed and wondered which room she would start cleaning first while Azaka ran outside to fetch the rest of their luggage.

The next year was spent making their parents proud. Azaka worked hard, often staying late to supervise the planning of military escorts of the Council. He attended several schools and received training as a M.P. and combat lifesaver. He'd put in his paperwork for a promotion and was waiting the results.

Keiko spent the year saving. She didn't buy any new clothes, she bought cheap food, she purchased only the most basic necessities for the house. She had scrimped and saved for a year with only one thought in mind, the one thing that would please everyone in both families. The one thing she wanted most in the world.

On the morning of the eighteenth day of the month of the Emperor Makito, Keiko made her way out to the shrine. Bowing low before the repaired statue of Tsunami, she recited the usual prayers for the occasion and then went back into the house. She scrubbed the kitchen floor and wondered if they would ever be able to afford maids. She ate a large lunch, making certain the food was healthy, and then set about airing out the mattress.

When her husband came home late that night, she told him her idea and showed him her records proving they could afford it. He considered it for a while, then agreed.

She gave birth a year later.

Ayashino Kane sat imperiously on the simple, overstuffed cushion. He allowed himself a brief smile when Azaka entered the guestroom bearing the baby.

"Let me see him." Azaka knelt on the floor and held the baby out for inspection.

The baby was ordinary and looked much like other babies do. Red faced and tired out from the difficulty of being born, little Akeno didn't appear to being anything other than the usual.

Kane puffed out his chest in pride at his first grandson. Three granddaughters were all well and good, but he was pleased beyond belief that he now had a grandson. Glancing up at the child's sire, he steadied himself to speak.

"He is strong? Full use of his limbs?"

"Yes, Father."

"His mother is well?" Keiko was his only daughter, it would not do if she hurt herself giving birth.

"She is well. Will you come with me to give thanks to Tsunami?"

Kane straightened himself. "I will." That said he pulled his ageing body up and allowed Azaka to lead him out towards the shrine.

In the two years since they had first moved in to the dingy little house on the military base, the shrine had been repaired, rebuilt, and replaced. What had once been a rotting wooden statue of the goddess was now a tall tree, with an idol of Tsunami carved into the trunk. A small spring of water surrounded the tree and elaborately carved stones were placed at strategic intervals around the shrine.

Azaka held his son close as he dropped to his knees and leaned forward until his head touched the earth. It was difficult, balancing the newborn while bowing, but he managed. Blinking back tears, he silently thanked Tsunami for his healthy son.

Two years later, the family moved. This time it was to Jurai, the city. The main hub around which the rest of the empire revolved. That bursting, colorful metropolis which Keiko was eagerly looking forward too seeing.

For himself, Azaka was hesitant about the move. True, it came with a promotion and it meant Keiko could finally have the maids and pretty clothes she deserved, but she was pregnant again and moving with a toddler…he shuddered at the thought. In the end, they both decided to invite his mother along for the ride with the idea that Aya could watch over Akeno while helping Keiko find a good maid. Besides, it had been years since Azaka had seen his mother and Aya had always wanted to see the city of Jurai. She eagerly agreed to meet them at the new house.

Azaka had expected his mother to be excited. He expected her to fuss over Akeno and coo over Keiko and ask him why it was he only wrote to her once a week. He did not expect her to have picked out new baby furniture before they had even arrived. Nor did he expect the mountain of toys, books and clothes that were waiting for Akeno.

Hell truly had no fury like an eager grandmother. Without warning she swooped into their lives like a bird with an expert eye on its prey and soon had them caught in her clutches as she dominated their lives from what time they went to bed at night, to what they ate for dinner.

Eventually, Keiko wanted her house and her life back and said so. Azaka winced at the battle he knew was coming and then resigned himself to do what had to be done. The next day, he called his father.

It was a curious anomaly of Jurain society. To be legally wed, both sets of parents had to agree to the union. However, with divorce, it was considered nobody's business but that of the man and wife. These combined societal rules were the main reason behind the high rate of broken marriages.

"You do realize your parents are insane, don't you?" Keiko flatly stated after her mother-in-law had finally left for good and they had a spare moment before her father-in-law showed up. Grumbling about her aching back, she moved to sit on the cushion that the family regarded as hers. "Your mother is domineering and maddening and your father has made no secret why they broke up."

Azaka sighed and stepped on one of Akeno's toys. He sighed again and briefly considered that they would soon have to stop him from strewing his things around the house. "Keiko, Love, I promise my father is saner than my mother."

"Promise me he won't loudly proclaim that they split up because she wouldn't sleep with him often enough."

"He doesn't…"

"He did at our wedding. Remember? Auntie fainted."

Azaka rolled his eyes. "He only says that when he's drunk." He kicked the toy across the room and slumped down at his customary place on the couch, an overstuffed, large cushion divided into sections by seams. He covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Anyways, Dad likes you and he's good with kids. Akeno will love him." When she didn't respond, the knight of Jurai stood up and made his way over to his wife. He sat down on the floor next to her cushion. Taking her hands in his own, he gazed up at her with pleading eyes. "Be kind to the old man. Please, for me?"

Keiko melted. "Azaka, I love you too much to say no to you."

He smiled. "My clever plan has succeeded then." He laughed as she batted his arm.

Author's notes- Yeah, so he wasn't always an uber competent Knight of Jurai. At one point Azaka was a normal, everyday military man with a wife and kids. My goal was to make this character start out normal and eventually flesh him out to the rebel scum hating, video game playing man we eventually see in 'Tenchi Universe'. Right now, I'm having fun imagining life on ancient Jurai, but the plot will eventually pick up.

Don't worry, I'll eventually get to Kamidake. After all, I want to find out what's up with the hair.

Since I forgot this in the first chapter, everything belongs to Pioneer, except the characters I've created.

Name meanings are kind of important, they reveal how I want the Original Characters to be seen.

Akeno- 'In the morning, bright shining field, beautiful sunrise'.

Aya- 'Colorful'. Aya is actually based on an Aunt of mine. I swear, the woman drives her poor daughter-in-law crazy.

Remember, reviews are always appreciated!


End file.
